If Ye Will Hearken: Lehis Rhetorical Wordplay on Ishmael in 2 Nephi 1:2829 and Its Implications

Nephi's preservation of the conditional "first blessing" that Lehi bestowed upon his elder sons (Laman, Lemuel, and Sam) and the sons of Ishmael, contains a dramatic wordplay on the name Ishmael in 2 Nephi 1:28–29. The name Ishmael -- "May El hear [him]," "May El hearken," or "El Has Hearkened" -- derives from the Semitic (and later Hebrew) verb šama? (to "hear," "hearken," or "obey"). Lehi's rhetorical wordplay juxtaposes the name Ishmael with a clustering of the verbs "obey" and "hearken,...